We are all petty, insulted, insulting, small minded at times. So it is good practice and hygiene. It is also true that defending the dharma, exposing fake gnu's and the much more common fake disciples, should also be part of dharma debate.

Trolls however should be killed or corralled, thus ensuring their travel to more accommodating grazing . . .

Well, exactly. I'm proposing a type of corral for wildebeest postings. The 'braggadocio' part was a bit of sarcasm, but the "Trash" bin part is a serious proposal. I've seen this work on other forums about this size. People always get up-in-arms when they see posts 'disappear'. Plus, the practice affords a bit of protection for those who decide to let off steam publicly - "I can say this because they'll delete it anyway"...

By moving such posts to the "Trash", it accomplishes several things: 1) gets the post out of the mainstream discussion so it doesn't draw further response; and 2) takes it away from eyes that would rather not see such behavior; while 3) keeping an 'open' record of the behavior so the entire community can be aware of it if they so choose.

It can take a lot of pressure off of admin/mods.

Of course, the "Trash" bin has to be locked so others can't go in and continue feuds...

If they can sever like and dislike, along with greed, anger, and delusion, regardless of their difference in nature, they will all accomplish the Buddha Path.. ~ Sutra of Complete Enlightenment

viniketa wrote:Plus, the practice affords a bit of protection for those who decide to let off steam publicly - "I can say this because they'll delete it anyway"...

For what it's worth, I wouldn't support anything that allows and permits people to be ill-tempered and poor disciplined, yet leaves volunteer moderators in a position where they are expected to clean up after such folk, simply to keep the forum civil.

Better to cultivate the brahma-vihara of upekkha (equinimity) than to "let off steam publicly", IMO.

Maitri,Retro.

Live in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes

viniketa wrote:Plus, the practice affords a bit of protection for those who decide to let off steam publicly - "I can say this because they'll delete it anyway"...

For what it's worth, I wouldn't support anything that allows and permits people to be ill-tempered and poor disciplined, yet leaves volunteer moderators in a position where they are expected to clean up after such folk, simply to keep the forum civil.

Better to cultivate the brahma-vihara of upekkha (equinimity) than to "let off steam publicly", IMO.

To be more clear, I meant the current practice of 'hiding' posts affords a bit of protection for those who are ill-tempered and poorly disciplined.

If they can sever like and dislike, along with greed, anger, and delusion, regardless of their difference in nature, they will all accomplish the Buddha Path.. ~ Sutra of Complete Enlightenment

viniketa wrote:To be more clear, I meant the current practice of 'hiding' posts affords a bit of protection for those who are ill-tempered and poorly disciplined.

OK, I see what you mean. It is true that people don't have full visibility over such members "ill-tempered and poorly disciplined" postings. Given some of the shameful and disruptive things people occasionally write (and hopefully later regret) that are in violation of the Terms Of Service, I think that's actually for the best.

Maitri,Retro.

Live in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes

retrofuturist wrote:Given some of the shameful and disruptive things people occasionally write (and hopefully later regret) that are in violation of the Terms Of Service, I think that's actually for the best.)

I understand. However, adherence to TOS can be reinforced when folks have access to examples of posts that are considered deviant from TOS.

If they can sever like and dislike, along with greed, anger, and delusion, regardless of their difference in nature, they will all accomplish the Buddha Path.. ~ Sutra of Complete Enlightenment

It was caused because there was inaction to stop that behaviour, and an Admin who was partisan in permitting persecution which, albeit not extreme, was enough to cause members to leave.

The attacks on Malcolm were partly also attacks on his Guru and the DC as he expressed precisely what I have heard ChNNR say himself. This was then permitted to continue, with further attacks on Malcolm and personal abuse of other DC members. That is a disgrace. Did staff hope that by allowing a thread full of abuse to carry on, it would burn itself out and then we can all go back to normal? You pour water on a fire, not petrol.

DW was growing, and much of the growth came from DC members - in itself resulting in expressions of annoyance that the DC was dominating the forum, whereas it was simply the case that other areas of the board needed someone like Malcolm to stimulate such activity.

Setting up persecution of members in the form of a sin bin or some form of village stocks is simply redirecting attention away from the true issue, which is the failure of staff to act.

I had an 'announcement' in my User Control Panel, apparently by Catmoon and sent by Astus. It was about not responding to insults with bad behaviour of your own. Staff need to take their own advice rather than taking a proposal for public vindictiveness back to the Team for discussion.

The first sectarian proposal by a current Admin, which caused me to resign as a Mod, could have been seen as an isolated episode. The repetition of it with the DC is evidence of a deeper problem of self-control.

The 'New Forum Idea' is simple:

Remove partisan staff.

Bring in more Mods, with a spread of specific knowledge of the schools, so that persecution and abuse can be readily identified and action can be fair and appropriate.

If possible, there also needs to be a good spread across time zones to ensure speedy action and avoid escalation.